Born in Unicoi County, one local nonprofit organization looking to give back is looking to build up more of a footprint in the city.
Recover Appalachia, a faith-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment facility, recently opened up An Appalachian Attic on West Elk Avenue in Elizabethton.
The thrift store is used as one of the means to help keep the organization going, according to Recover Appalachia founder Rossanna Aldrich. While moving the store from Unicoi County to Carter County, Aldrich added the transition has proven to be smoother than expected.
“It’s moving forward,” she said. “It’s been going great. We appreciate all the support from Carter County. It has been fantastic to see both counties come together for this.”
Following up their soft opening this week, Lucy Hull, store operator, added An Appalachian Attic will hold a grand opening on Monday, Dec. 5, to officially celebrate the store’s new location. Refreshments will be offered, along with information about Recover Appalachia.
“We’ve really had tremendous support from the community,” Hull said. “We’ve also had some donations. We were actually able to turn around give some donations to those in need. There’s was a probation officer that came in and she had a client that whose heat and wood-burning stove went out. Within 24 hours, we had a heat and cook stove donated by some of our people that shop here and visit our Facebook page. The probation officer stopped by and picked up the items.”
If an individual can not provide a monetary donation, the store serves as a way for someone looking to make an impact with Recover Appalachia, Hull said.
“We accept anything that really goes in a house, garage or basement,” she added with a laugh. “We even take items that are broken. We have people that come in that are on community service and we teach them how to repurpose, paint and fix things. My husband (Roger) was working with someone before we opened on how to take walls down and put windows in. We try to work with these people that do community service.”
Hull added the store was able to donate two pairs of shoes for a homeless individuals and were able to serve as a mediator to help a woman that recently went through a full year of sobriety receive future to help regain here daughter.
“Whether it is with donations, working as a middle man or selling items with the store, our goal is to help people where we can,” she said.
Recover Appalachia offers a better of other opportunities, including peer-to-peer support services, acting as a referral sources for individuals requiring inpatient rehab, follow-up support for former inmates, DUI school, ignition interlock installation, drug testing and assistance for mental health.
An Appalachian Attic is located on 2157 West Elk Ave. in Elizabethton. The store is opened Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit An Appalachian Attic’s Facebook page online or call (423) 440-1633.
To learn more about Recover Appalachia, check out their website at recoverapplachia.org or call (423) 330-6105.